Assessment of light water reactor safety since the Three Mile Island accident
The NRC has completed 70% (as of 1983) of the TMI Action Plan, which is the combination of the Kemeny, Rogovin, and other recommendations. The industry has combined forces to achieve increased communication, high-quality and uniform operation, and better management of nuclear power. The state of the art of reactor safety was assessed by examining probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) of about two dozen reactors and by studying experiments designed to answer basic safety questions. Particular attention was paid to evidences for a reduced source term, higher containment margin, and lower probabilities for breaching the containment through steam explosion or hydrogen burn. Data from PRAs and from the study of core-melt accident precursors were used in conjunction with simplified event trees to assess the safety of light water reactors (LWRs). We found that LWRs before TMI were more prone to accidents, perhaps by a factor of two than the results of WASH-1400, but thanks to actions taken since TMI, the frequency of accidents may have been reduced by a factor of two to three below that of WASH-1400. Net result is that LWRs today may be three to six times safer than reactors before TMI.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76OR00033
- OSTI ID:
- 6314894
- Report Number(s):
- ORAU/IEA-84-3(M); ON: DE85004240
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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29 ENERGY PLANNING
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REACTOR SAFETY
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WATER COOLED REACTORS
RISK ASSESSMENT
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
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REVIEWS
THREE MILE ISLAND-2 REACTOR
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ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
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220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy